The 1966 F1 season marked a return to high-displacement engines and produced the only championship won by a driver in a car bearing his own name.
Key Facts
- Season number
- 20th FIA Formula One season
- Championship races
- 9 races, 22 May – 23 October 1966
- Drivers' Champion
- Jack Brabham (Brabham-Repco)
- Gap between Brabham titles
- 6 years (1960 to 1966) years
- Engine displacement limit change
- 1.5 litres increased to 3 litres
- Fatal accident
- John Taylor died from burns after German Grand Prix crash
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
The FIA doubled the maximum allowed engine displacement from 1.5 to 3 litres ahead of the 1966 season, ushering in what became known as 'the return to power' and requiring teams to develop entirely new, more powerful engines under considerable time pressure.
The 1966 World Championship of Drivers was contested over nine races. Jack Brabham, driving a Brabham-Repco of his own construction, won his third Drivers' title, and the Brabham constructor claimed the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers for the first time. A fatal accident occurred at the German Grand Prix when John Taylor collided with Jacky Ickx and died four weeks later from his burns.
Brabham's triumph set a record six-year gap between championship wins, later surpassed by Niki Lauda in 1984. The 1966 season remains the only occasion in Formula One history in which the Drivers' Championship was won by a driver in a car of his own construction bearing his own name, a distinction that still stands as of 2025.